Container and means for exhausting air therefrom



April 25, 1939 w. D, BRANDON CONTAINER AND MEANS FOR EXHAUST ING AIR THEREFROM Filed Aug. 7, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l fierwr'x e Z firarzdora I April 25,.1939- ,w. D. BRANDON 2,155,397

CONTAINER AND MEANS FOR EXHAUSTING AIR THEREFROM Filed Aug. 7, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 2 fl 2a" igm- Zdgyzze @Zmrzdora April25, 1939. w. D. BRANDON CONTAINER AND MEANS FOR EXHAUSTING AIR THEREFROM Filed Aug. '7. 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 jade 7%72' Patented Apr. 25, 1939 UNi-TED STATES CONTAINER AND MEANS FOR EXHAUSTING AIR, THEREFROM Wayne D. Brandon, Glenview, Ill., assignor to Baxter Laboratories, Inc., Glenview, 111., a cor-' poratlon of Delaware Application August 7, 1935, Serial No. 35,181

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a container and means or apparatus for exhausting air therefrom.

An object of the invention is to provide improved mechanism for. exhausting air from a container, and more particularly acontainer adapted to hold sterile liquids. A further object is to provide a container having improved sealing means. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

iii The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a view in elevation of a container embodying my invention and mechanism also iii embodying my invention for exhausting air from the container; Fig, 2, an enlarged detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 2 of Fig. 4; Fig. 3, an enlarged broken sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a side view in elevation, the view being taken as indicated at line 4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the valve in position for exhausting air from the container; Fig. 6, an adjustable mechanism for controlling the length of the operating rod; Fig. 7, an enlarged detailed sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line i of Fig. 4; Fig. 8, a perspective view of the cap employed; Fig. 9, a perspective view of the metal sealing disk; Fig. 10, a perspective view of the flexible sealing diskf Fig. 11, a perspective view oi the inner clamping ring; Fig. 12, a perspective view of the rubber plug; Fig. 13, a part sectional view showing the assembly of the cap, metal sealing disk, and flexible sealing disk on top of the inner clamping ring; and Fig. 14, a broken sectional View showing a modified form of bell member providing a seal about the entire bottle or com tainer.

49 In the illustration given, A indicates exhausting mechanism for exhausting air from the container B.

The apparatus A may be of any suitable construction. In the illustration given, I provide a 45 supporting board or table l0 provided with a perforation ll through which extends an actuating rod i2. Below the table Ill is a pivotally supported treadle bar i3 to which the rod I2 is secured. If desired, a turnbuckle l4 may be see- 50 cured within rod I! to permit adjustment thereof.

Mounted upon table I!) is a metal standard it to which is clamped a' fixed support or collar IS. The collar l6 supports a compression spring il tending to urge upwardly a frame It.

6c The frame member I8 is equipped with two arms l9 and 20 having apertures therein receiving post i5. The arm 20 is provided with an extension 2| slidably receiving guide 22. The upper end of guide 22 is fixed to bracket 23 which is also apertured to receive the post i5 and which is pro- 5 vided with a clamping lever 24 for fixing bracket 23 to standard it. v

The actuating rod II, which is connected to treadle member i3, extends through openings in frame it and is normally urged in an upward i0 direction by spring 25 which rests upon a flange 26 at the lower side of frame I8, and which engages a lug 2'! which is fixed to rod i2. The rod I2 is provided with a pair of spaced stops 28 and 29 near its upper side, where it passes through iii the horizontal flange 30, the stops being on opposite sides of the flange and cooperating with the flange to limit the downward and upward stroke of rod l2. 1

Secured to the upper end of rod Ills an armil so which in turn is secured to a vertical spring controlled valve' 32. As shown more clearly in Figs.

2 and 5, the valve rod 32 is' adapted to reciprocate through the central bore of valve block 33. The

lower portion of the valve rod 32 is provided with a vertical passage 34 which extends through the lower end of the valve and communicates with a recess 35 which communicates with the atmosphere through passages 36. The upper end of passage 34 communicates with an annular recess 30 3'1 about rod 32.

Extending transversely across the block 32 is a passage 38 and threadedly connected to the block so as to communicate with passage 3d are conduits 39 and it. Conduit 39 communicates with 35 a reduced pressure line in which a pump or other suitable means provides a reduction of pressure. Pipe it communicates, as will be described later, with the exhausting mechanism adapted to be brought in contact with the container. The pas- 40 sage 3a is adapted to be brought in contact not only with the annular passage 31 communicat ing with the passage 34, but also with an annular passage ti which permits air to flow from pipe All through and into pipe 39 in the air exhausting operation.

Frame It! is also provided with a pair of forwardly extending arms 42 and 43. The upper arm 42 is recessed to receive the upper end ofpressure bar 44. Secured to the forward end of the lower arm 43 is a collar 45 adapted to receive adjustment screws 46. The adjustment screws, as shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 7, engage a tubular supporting member 41 which is interiorly threaded to receive the lower 5 threaded end 48 of the pressure member. The

lower end of pressure bar 44 is reduced at 48 and provided with a groove 50 to receive the end of a screw driver. Integrally formed with the tubular supporting member 41 is a horizontal flange 5i forming the top of the reduced pressure chamber. Secured to the plate 5| is a cylindrical member 52 which is provided on one side with a threaded opening 53. At its lower side, the cylindrical member 52 is recessed to receive a rubber seal 54, the seal beingadapted to engage the portion of the container B just below its neck, as shown more clearlyin Fig. 7.

The bell or reduced pressure chamber formed by the flange Ii, cylinder 52 and seal 54 is connected to the reduced pressure line 40 by a flexible rubber tube I5, as shown more clearly in Fig; '1. The pipe 40 may be provided with -a vacuum gauge 58 if desired. The lower portion of tube is connected to a metal pipe 51 which, in turn, threadedly engages the opening 53 of cylinder I2.

The container B may be of any suitable type or size. In the illustration given, the bottle is provided with a neck 40 having ribs GI extending therearound. A rubber plug 82 is seated within neck 40 and is preferably provided with a top annular flange 63 resting upon the top edge of the neck. The plug 82 is preferably provided with a pair of openings 64 and 85 of the shape illustrated in Fig. 7. If desired, a glass tube 66 may be extended through opening '85, the head 61 of the tube resting within the shallow recess" at the upper side of opening 65.

After the plug 82 has been placed in position, I preferably securean inner clamping ring 68 in the position shown in Fig. 'l, the lower edge of the metal ring being clamped about the lower bead 0i, while the upper flange 88 rests upon the ledge or lip 83 of plug 62. In this manner, the plug 42 is clamped in tight sealing position within neck 60. r Y I next place a thin flexible sealing disk 10 of rubber or other suitable material upon the top of plug 42 so that the edges of the disk rest upon the horizontal flange 69 of clamping ring 88. It will be observed that the sealing ring III is substantially co-extensive with the top portion of the rubber plug 62.

Over the flexible seal II, I place a metal disk II which clamps the peripheral edge of the flexible member- 10 firmly against the horizontal flange 69 of the inner ring 48. 'Ihe metal cap 12 is then placed over the flexible seal Ill and the metal disk II, as shown more clearly in Fig. 18, and the lower edge portions ll are spun 'under' the lower shoulder of inner ring 68. If desired,

. sion thereon, tear a strip of metal away along the side, of the cap, thus permitting the cap to be removed. I have found the use of certain alum- Operation In the operation of the apparatus, the contain er B equipped with the rubb'er'plugfl and inner ring or sleeve 68, as shown more clearly in Fig. 'l, is placed upon the table ill, with the movable member 52 supported a spaced distance thereabove, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1.

The operator depresses pedal l3 with his foot, thus drawing rod l2 downwardly. The spring 25 is heavier than compression spring l1 and therefore causes the frame l8 to move downward-' 1y bringing the cylinder 52 and rubber seal 54 into engagement with the bottle. Immediately following the downward movement of the frame l8, rod [2 causes the valve stem 32 to move downwardly, thus bringing the groove 4! into alignment with the passage 38, as shown in Fig. 5. The pressure bar 44 engages the flexible rubber seal 10 at a point midway between the two openings 64 and 65.

pipe 40 with the reduced pressure line 39 through the passage 38 of block 33. Air from the interior of the bottle passes out through either or both -of the openings of the plug, the rubber seal 10- rising to permit the escape of the air. When the air has bee l exhausted, to a sufllcient degree, the operator releases-the treadle l3 and the spring 25 first moves rod If to its initial position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the passage 38 communieating with the annular groove 31 and therethrcugh with the vertical passage 34 which communicates with the atmosphere through passages 36. Immediately thereafter, the spring l1 urges frame I8 upwardly to the original position shown in Fig. 1.

The container B may then be removed from the platform Ill and the disk II is placed upon the flexible sealing member 10, as indicated in Fig.

. The new device permits a sealing ring 10 to be I employed which substantially covers the rubber The passage 4| in valve stem. ,32, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5, connects plug, thus giving a complete and permanent seal.

At the same time, a seal can be employedwhich extends over the horizontal flange of the sleeve 58. Also, by employing the inner sleeve 68 and metal disk I I, the sealing member 10 can be locked permanently in sealing position between the two metal members.

The sealing apparatus by enclosingthe entire bottle neck or' the entire bottle if desired, enables a sealing mechanism to be employed which sub stantially covers the top portion of the bottle neck, while at the same time no pressure is exertedby the sealing chamber members directly against the top edge of the bottle, thus avoiding injury thereto.

In the mechanism shown, the pressure bar 44 can bereadily adjusted by inserting a screw driverwithin groove 50 and rotating member 48 to raise or lower the bar; or, if desired, the upper portion of bar 48 may be grasped and rotated by suitable tools. In this manner, the exhausting mechanism can be readily adapted for use with different sized bottles as well as with bottles, having necks of varying diameters.

' ing the same in detail, it will be understood that changes in construction can be extensively made ithout departing from the spirit of my invention. The foregoingdetailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the character set forth, a support for a container, a standard extending above said support; a frame movably mounted on said standard, spring means urging said frame toward raised position, a valve rod extending through said frame, means for depressing said valve rod, and a spring associated with said valve rod, said spring being, stronger than said firstmentioned spring so as to bring about a' movement of said frame downwardly before said valve rod is actuated the required distance, a sealing head carried by said frame and adapted to form an air-tight chamber about at least a portion of said container, and means connecting said head with a reduced pressure line.

2. In apparatus of the character set forth, a support for a container, a standard extending above said support, a frame member movably mounted on said standard, a spring normally urging said frame toward raised position, a reduced pressure head carried by said frame, and adapted to form an air-tight chamber about at least a portion of said container when said frame is moved to lowered position, a valve communicating with a reduced pressure line, a conduit between said valve and said head, a rod for actuating said valve, and acompression spring between an abutment carried by said rod and said frame whereby downward movement of said rod causes said frame also to move downwardly, said last-mentioned spring being stronger than said first-mentioned spring so that when the rod is depressed, the frame moves downwardly to bring said head into operative position with respect to said container prior to the openingof said valve.

3. In apparatus of the character set forth, a

support for a container, 9. standard extendingabove said support, a frame member movab mounted on said standard, a spring normally urging said frame toward raised position, areduced pressure head carried by said frame and adapted to form an air-tight chamber about at least a portion of said container when said frame is moved to lowered position, a valve communicating with a reduced pressure line, a conduit be tween said valve and said head, a rod for actuating. said valve, and a compression spring between an abutment carried by said rod and said frame whereby downward movement of said rod causes said frame also to move downwardly, said last-mentioned spring being stronger than said first-mentioned spring so that when the rod is depressed, the frame moves downwardly to bring said head into operative position with respect to said container prior to the opening of said valve, said second-mentioned spring serving also to actuate said valve when said rod is released prior to the raising of said frame, thereby raising the pressure within said head to atmospheric.

4. In apparatus of the class set forth, a support for a container, a standard extending above said support, a frame member movably mounted on said standard, a spring normally urging said frame toward raised position, a reduced pressure head carried by said frame and adapted to form an airtight chamber about at least a portion of said container when said frame is moved to lowered position, a reduced pressure line communi eating with said head. a valve controlling said reduced pressure line and being operable to establish communication with the atmosphere with respect to that portion of thepressure line ieadinsto said head, a vertically movable member for actuating said valve, an abutment carried by said vertically movable member, and a compression spring between said whereby downward causes said frame also to move downwardly, said last-mentioned spring being stronger than said first-mentioned spring so that when said vertically movable member, after being depressed, is released, said last mentioned spring actuates said valve to establish communication between the atmosphere and said head prior to the raising of said head.

WAYNE D. BRANDON.

abutment and said frame movement of said member; 

